KHARTOUM, 11 January 2007 — Sudan and rebel groups have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire in Darfur on the basis of a peace agreement reached in Nigeria last May, a senior US politician said yesterday.
US New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told a news conference at the end of a four-day visit that President Omar Bashir had agreed to his delegation’s proposal for a truce in the war-torn western region of the country.
Bashir, with whom the governor held two meetings, agreed to the truce “as long as it in goes in line with the DPA,” the Darfur peace agreement signed in Abuja on May 5, according to Richardson. “Both sides agreed there was a compelling need for a comprehensive cease-fire to launch a political process based on the DPA that would lead to a durable end to the conflict as soon as possible,” said a joint statement distributed to reporters at a press conference in Khartoum.
“Both agreed to a 60-day cessation of hostilities by all parties within the framework of the DPA,” it said. Richardson, heading a delegation made up of the Save Darfur Coalition, also held talks with Foreign Minister Lam Akol and visited Darfur where he met with government and humanitarian officials as well as rebel faction leaders.
“I met in Darfur several leaders of the rebel factions, including the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which have not yet signed the DPA,” he said.
The groups “told me that they would agree to the cessation of hostilities,” said the governor. Richardson said that a date for the start of the cease-fire would be negotiated between the government, United Nations, African Union and the Darfur rebels.
The joint statement issued by Khartoum and the US team said the United Nations and African Union would embark on efforts aimed at “narrowing the gaps” between the government and rebel groups which refused to sign the peace deal.
